Slicing-machine.



46. VEGETABLh ANU mm CUTTERSuCOMMiNUTERS- W. M. MILLER.

SLIGING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEGA, 1906.

Patented Nov. 24, 1908.

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W. M. MILLER.

SLICING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED DEO.4,1906.

Patented Nov. 24, 1908.

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v QuL WILLIS M. MILLER, OF ANDERSON, INBIANA.

SLICING-MACHINE To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, VVILLIS M. MILLER, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Anderson, county of Madison, State of Indiana, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Slicing-Machines, of which the following is a full and clear specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is a plan view of my improved machine; Fig. 2 a vertical sectional view on the line 2-2 of Fig. 5; Fig. 3' a detail view of the ratchet device employed in connection with the feed screw; Fig. 41 a horizontal sec tion on the line 4:& of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 a vertical section on the line 55 of Fig. 4.

The object of this invention is to provide a simple apparatus for slicing boneless meat and other food products, and to the accomplishment of this object and such others as may hereinafter appear, the invention con sists of the parts and combination of parts hereinafter fully described, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, in which the same reference characters designate like parts throughout the several views.

Referring to the drawings by reference characters, A designates a base-frame having its top plate or board a provided with a rearwardly-extending slot a and a pair of parallel tracks a extending from the front edge to the rear edge of the top board and inclining away from the rotary cutter O at the delivery side of the machine.

Upon the tracks or flanges a is mounted to slide back and forth a carriage B which is provided on its under side with suitable lugs or flanges to engage the tracks and which is also provided with a lug Z) which depends through slot (L This carriage is reciprocated back and forth on the tracks by means of a horizontal link K which pivotally connects the depending lug b to the outer end of a radial arm K carried by a horizontal gear wheel j affixed to a vertical shaft J. This gear wheel j is driven by a smaller gear wheel 2" afiixed to the upper end of a short vertical shaft I, and the lower end of this latter shaft carries a fixed bevel gear z'which meshes with a bevel gear 71. affixed to the inner end of a horizontal shaft it, this shaft having its inner end journaled on a trans- Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed December 4 Patented Nov. 24, 1908.

, 1906. Serial No. 346,231.

verse bar 7 and its outer, forward end in thefront wall of the base, the outer end of this shaft carrying the fiy-wheel H, this wheel being provided with a handle whereby the operator may conveniently turn it and thus reciprocate the carriage back and forth. The short vertical shaft I is journaled in a transverse bar 2' extending from one side wall of the base to a vertical partition wall T. Gear it also meshes with a gear Z affixed to a shaft L journaled in the base at right angles to the above described shafts and carrying a large spur gear Z which meshes with a smaller spur gear a aflixed to the arbor N which carries at its outer end a removable rotary cutter disk 0. By means of this mechanism the rotary cutter is rotated simultaneously with the reciprocation of the carriage and through the medium of a single drive shaft.

The front transverse edge of the carriage B is provided with an upward extending flange Z) and the article to be sliced is held down upon the upper face of the carriage and against this flange by means of a series of long flexible steel fingers or rods 0 car ried by a plate 6 which is mounted on a vertical post E aflixed to the carriage opposite its feed edge. The spring fingers project toward the feed edge but terminate short of it and when the plate 6 is pressed down upon the post it is held in its adjusted position by a biting action caused by the upward pressure of the article upon the spring fingers. lVhile these spring fingers hold the meat or other article being sliced firmly down upon the carriage they do not prevent it being fed off the feed end of the table as the article is sliced, and this feeding action is accomplished by a plate 0 mounted upon a trans verse screw C and extending forwardly underneath the spring fingers and provided with upward extending sharpened pins adapted to engage into the article. The turning of the screw C causes the plate 0 to move toward the feed edge of the plate and thus gradually feed the article as it is sliced. The screw is operated to feed this articleengaging plate. or bar on the return stroke of the table and this is accomplished by mounting a rack F on the off side of the table in the path of a pinion D mounted on the adjacent end of the screw beyond one of its bearings c. When the carriage is brought back for another stroke this wheel engages the rack and the screw is turned sufficiently to feed the article toward the knife a distance equal to the slice to be cut, and to vary the feed the rack may be slid back and forth by any suitable means, as, for instance, by means of a lever G pivoted on the side of the base and adapted to be held in its adjusted position by means of a hook g. The rack F is adapted to slide back and forth in guides or ways f its flanges f engaging in grooves in said ways. A pin f pivotally connects the rack to the upper end of the lever G, a ratchet and pawl device (consisting of a pawl cl carried by gear D and actuated by spring 6F, and a ratchet wheel cl rigidly fastened on the end of screw G) permits the gear D to rotate independently of the screw on the forward stroke of the table thereby preventing the screw drawing back the feed plate. The gear D is of course loosely mounted on the screw.

It will be observed that I provide a simple eflicient and compact machine whereby the meat or other article may rapidly and accurately be sliced into slices of any desired thickness. The spring clamping fingers are especially important in that they are readily adapted to hold articles of various sizes and shapes resiliently but firmly in place while they are being cut and fed to the knife. The screw feed and the article-engaging plate 0, the latter working under the spring clamping fingers, are also important in that a regular, sure and adjustable feed is thereby obtained. Another feature of special im-' portance lies in inclining the tracks rearwardly and away from the inner face of the cutter whereby as the carriage is moved backward on its cutting stroke the newly cut face of the meat will be automatically moved away from the inner straight face of the cutter sufiiciently to avoid binding against the same, thereby permitting the largest slices to be cut with a minimum of power.

Any suitable vessel or receptacle may be provided for catching and holding the slices as they fall from the knife. I prefer using a computing scale for this purpose as the amount of material sliced off will be constantly shown in weight and money value, so that the operator may thereby be prevented from cutting off more than is needed to fill any particular order.

It will be observed that the inner edge 6 of the carriage overhangs the adjacent edge of the table and is parallel with the guiding track on the table, so that as the carriage moves backward in making the cut this edge will always lie close to the front cutting edge of the cutter at the cutting point and thus firmly support the article at the cutting point throughout the stroke of the carriage.

Having thus fully described my invention,

what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is 1. In combination, a base, a rotary cutter and means for driving it, a carriage and means for moving the same to and from the cutter, a post upon the carriage, a vertically adjustable plate on this post carrying a series of independent spring fingers adapted to clamp the article down upon the table while it is being cut, and means for auto matically sliding the article from underneath these clamping fingers toward the cutter.

2. In a slicing machine, the combination of a base, a rotary cutter, a carriage on the base and inclined ways on the base inclining away from the cutter, means on the carriage for feeding the article to be out toward the cutter, and means for simul taneously rotating the cutter and sliding the carriage back and forth past the cutting edge of the cutter, said means embodying a driving shaft, gearing connecting the same with the shaft of the cutter, a horizontal gear wheel j ournaled under the carriage and gearing connecting this wheel with the driving shaft, a radial arm attached to the upper side of said horizontal gear wheel and a link lying between said arm and the carriage and pivotally connected at one end to said arm and at the other end to the carriage.

3. In combination, a base, a rotary cutter, a carriage and means for sliding the same, a post upon the carriage, a meat-clamping device vertically adjustable on this post and extending in the direction of the feed of the article, means for automatically feeding the article from under this clamping device, said means embodying a feed-screw and means for rotating it, and an article-engaging device carried by the screw and adapted to be moved by the screw toward the cutter, said article-engaging device extending laterally under the clamping device, substantially as set forth.

4. In a slicing machine, the combination of a base and a rotary cutter and means for rotating the cutter, a carriage on the base and means whereby this carriage is slid back and forth past the cutting edge of the cutter, inclined ways on the base inclining away from the cutter, means on the carriage for feeding the article to be out toward the cutter, the inner edge of the carriage lying close to the cutter at its cutting point and parallel with the inclined ways on the table, substantially as described.

5. In a slicing machine, the combination of a base, a shaft carrying a circular cutter, a meat carriage on the base, inclined ways for the carriage on the base inclining rearwardly away from the cutter, the inner edge of the carriage lying close to the cutter at its cutting point and parallel with the inclined ways on the table, for the purpose set forth, means on the carriage for automatically feeding the article a presence of two Witnesses WILLIS M. MILLER.

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